Barnes & Noble's new Nook GlowLight: lighter, sharper, still ad-free

When you think of e-readers, what's the first brand that comes to mind? Kindle, perhaps? Well, despite hitting some hard times, Barnes & Noble's Nook line also has its share of loyal customers. And those folks just got a pre-holiday treat, as B&N looks to take on the Kindle Paperwhite with a refreshed frontlit Nook GlowLight e-reader.

It might be easy to dismiss the new Nook GlowLight as the Kindle Paperwhite's fallen rival who just won't die. But the new model does bring a few key features to the table. At 176 g (6.2 oz), it's 15 percent lighter than Amazon's flagship reader. The new model also has an improved frontlit display, which should spread light more uniformly across the screen. That display is also sharper this year, matching the 1,024 x 758 resolution in the frontlit Kindle.

If you've ever used an e-ink display, then you're well familiar with flashing syndrome. The simulated experience of reading a physical book gets diminished a bit when your screen flashes black for a split second every time you turn the page (to refresh those e-ink pixels). Well, B&N has axed full-page flashing in the new Nook. Let's just hope it doesn't come at the expense of ghosting (faint traces of the previous page), which the flash was designed to eliminate.

Storage and pricing

Barnes & Noble is also marketing the new Nook's extra internal storage. It gives you 4 GB total, including 2.5 GB for books (the rest is reserved for the Nook's operating system and default software). The Kindle Paperwhite, meanwhile, only gives you 1.25 GB for storing books. Some readers will appreciate that extra space, but we imagine most people will be content to store their current reads on the device, and leave the rest of their library waiting in the cloud.

The new Nook matches the Kindle Paperwhite's US$119 entry price, but with one nice bonus: no ads. If you want to remove the lock screen "special offers" on the Paperwhite, you'll have to pony up another $20. The Nook GlowLight gives you an ad-free experience without paying anything extra.

Does all of this add up to a compelling alternative to the Paperwhite? Your answer to that may depend on which platform the majority of your books are already in. As always, you can't read Kindle books on a Nook, and vice versa. If you're already invested in Amazon's ecosystem, we doubt the new Nook will be your reason to jump ship.